


Second Chances at Forever

by steviewho



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ending Fix, F/M, Immortal Rose Tyler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-31 16:50:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21148997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steviewho/pseuds/steviewho
Summary: Rose is in the parallel world and meets a parallel 9th Doctor who has lost his TARDIS and is stuck on Earth. Lucky for him, she happens to have one.





	Second Chances at Forever

**Author's Note:**

> This came about because Billie Piper and Christopher Eccleston (eeeekkkk) came to my local Comic Con. Someone asked Billie if she could write an ending for Rose what would it be. 
> 
> She said she would like to see Rose in her own TARDIS and in charge. Basically having the role of the Doctor, and have the Doctor traveling with her. 
> 
> Someone asked Christopher if he would be the Doctor again who would he like to travel with and he said he would only ever travel with Rose. She is the only person that his Doctor would want to travel with. 
> 
> So this is my answer to them both. 
> 
> Thanks and lots of love for indulging my runaway imagination.

She saw him circle her TARDIS several times. He knocked on the sides to check the material. She heard the familiar hum of his sonic. When he began shaking the doors that was when she stepped in. 

“Can I help you?” Rose leaned casually on the side of her ship with her arms folded. 

“Nope. Go on.” he waved her away. Her TARDIS hummed and he looked up at the light on top. The flashing light confused him for a moment then that big familiar grin lit up his face. He ran a loving hand across it.

“Really Mate, could you stop caressing her? She’s not who you think she is.” Rose had to use every ounce of control she had to not lunge at him and wrap her arms around him when he turned and looked at her. Those blue eyes, eyes she never thought she would see again. The nose, the ears. He was exactly like she remembered him. He stood straight up and adjusted his leather jacket. 

“You know what this is?” he asked, turning his sonic onto her. “Not Time Lord. Not human either.” he said checking the readings. 

“This is the TARDIS. Stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. She’s my ship.” Rose gave her time ship and light pat on the side. 

“I know what a TARDIS is. How do you? How did you get this? Did you steal it?” he took a threatening step towards her before thinking better of it and stepped back. He did not cool off though, he stood with his arms folded staring at her. The same disapproving look she would get when she would wander off. 

“Unlike you, I don’t go ‘round stealing spaceships. She was grown from a piece of a TARDIS. My friend gifted it to me.” 

“How do you know...you know what nevermind. I don’t know how that's possible, all the Time Lords are long gone.” he scowled. This must be right after the war, before he met her. 

“I’ve had her for a long time. Where is your TARDIS? How did you get over here. I thought the walls were sealed off. Is it because this you is before the one that sealed it?” 

“What walls? What are you talking about?”

“You’re in the wrong universe.” she said, but then it clicked with her. Maybe he wasn’t. All this time she and John assumed there were no alternate Time Lords. They must have been wrong. 

“I’m in the universe I have always been in. Have you travelled to different dimensions?” he was getting really suspicious she could tell but the tilt of his head. 

“A few. Best go inside for this chat.” she pulled the key out from the necklace beneath her shirt and unlocked the door. She waved her hand to indicate he should go in, and she followed. He made his way up to the console. She flipped a few switches, parking her in space. Mostly to prove to him this was her ship, she could drive it. 

“Where did you take us?” he marched to the door, his heavy boots thumping along the metal grating. He flung the door open and froze. She heard him take a deep breath in and released it with a shudder. He opened the second door and sat on the edge, letting his feet dangle over. Unsure of what to do Rose mimicked him, she sat next to him and let her feet dangle too. She watched him for a long while before speaking. 

“I don’t think I have ever seen this you so content.” she remarked absentmindedly. 

“It’s been a long time since I have seen the stars. So you know me then? Must be from my future cause I don’t remember you. Who are you?” he still hadn’t taken eyes from the sight in front of them. 

“Rose Tyler.” she leaned her head back on the door and continued to watch the colors dance across his handsome face. 

“Rose Tyler.” he said back to her. Testing out how her name felt on his tongue. She shivered at the sound of her name in his old Northern Accent. He must have noticed out of the side of his eye because he turned and looked at her, then gave her that great big grin she missed so much. 

“Where’s your TARDIS Doctor?” she regretted asking because his smile fell. 

“She died. Another casualty of war. She had just enough in her to bring me here and then she just died one day. I’ve been stranded on earth for 20 years or so.” 

“20 years? What have you been doing? How come I never found you before?” 

“Travelling mostly. I just got back to London myself. Who are you Rose Tyler. What are you?” 

“Were you here during the Dalek invasion?” 

“Technically yes. I landed here in 2005, but I stayed with my TARDIS for several years on the island we landed on. Took me a while to get off the island. I heard about it years later. Dalek and Cybermen. I wondered who had stopped it.” 

“I did. Well not just me, mostly it was the Doctor. Not you obviously, I’m from an alternate dimension. I travelled with that world’s version of you. I got trapped on this side.” 

“There is alternate Time Lords?” he pulled one leg up and leaned back onto his arms. He looked exactly like he did the day the Earth burned. She was dying to reach out and touch him, to see if he was real or some sort of delusion. 

“Just the one. There was a Time War there too.” she knew that was all she needed to say for him to understand. He nodded his head up and down but looked out the doors again. 

“So you got trapped over here, luckily with a piece of the TARDIS.” 

“No. I got trapped over here but helped design a dimension cannon to get back to him.”

“That obviously didn’t work.” he scoffed. 

“If you would stop interrupting me!” she shook her head at him, her face and tone did not reflect the harsh words. She was smiling, a huge smile. He didn’t think he ever saw anyone or anything with a smile that big. He put a hand up in defeat before indicating that she should finish. “It worked perfectly thank you very much. We were together before I was trapped. I loved you...him so much and he loved me. There was nothing that was going to stop me from getting back to him. And I did. But, he got shot by a Dalek when we reunited. He didn’t want to change to a new man when he just got me back, so he used enough regeneration energy to heal himself and put the rest in a jar with one of his old hands in it.” she stopped to laugh at the disgusted look on his face and then she continued. “So, long story short. His friend touched the hand and bam we have a human/timelord metacrisis on our hands. Which was a bit out of control and did something dangerous. So he left me and the new Doctor here with a piece of the TARDIS to grow our own ship.” she spread her hands and indicated around the console room.

“So. You travelled with me over there. We fell in love then got separated. Then you fought your way back to me and I just dump you in another world with a meta crisis. Didn’t seem like he loved you all that much.” 

“He did. It was his way of giving me a chance with him but with the same lifespan.” 

“But he was a metacrisis. He wasn’t the same.” 

“John. His name was John.” she corrected. “And I loved him. Seperate from my feelings for the Doctor. I loved him as a different person, because he was a different person. The Doctor was doing what he always did and pushing me away in order to protect me.” 

“And where is this John?” he looked around the room. 

“Gone. He uh. He sacrificed himself to save the planet 5 years ago.” 

“So you’re all alone too?” he tilted his head to the side and watched her. 

“Pretty much.” she sighed and bit her lip. Clearly trying to hold back tears. For some reason he couldn’t explain, he reached over and grabbed her hand. She squeezed his in return. Both his hearts stopped at that moment. He looked into her eyes and felt their timelines twist around one another. A slow grin over took his face. 

“Are you peeking at my timeline?” she smiled at him. 

“I was trying to.” 

“Find anything interesting?” she quirked an eyebrow at him. He threw his head back and laughed. 

“Might have Rose Tyler. Might have.” he still hadn’t let go of her hand. Not that she minded. She was lost in those eyes. Those eyes that haunted her dreams for years. Those same eyes she fell in love with all those years ago. She shook herself out of it. They weren’t the same eyes. They just look like them. 

Because he was the Doctor and can’t ever just let himself have something good he immediately turned suspicious, assuming there was something nefarious going on.

"How do I know I can trust you and what you are telling me?" He folded his arms and scowled at her. 

"I know you saw our timelines are entwined. Isn't that enough?"

"That could mean we are lifelong enemies." He shrugged. He still hadn't let go of her hand though. 

“What can I do to prove to you that you can trust me? 

He shrugged at her, giving her a challenging look. She took the hand holding hers and turned it over. She began running her finger around the palm spelling something out.

“So you know a little Gallifreyan? Doesn’t mean anything. The Master was a Time Lord and still tried to steal my TARDIS all the time.” he tried to pull his hand away but she tugged it back. 

“You’re really gonna make me do this huh?” she asked, he didn’t answer her. He only stared at her with his oncoming storm look trying to be scary. “Jokes on you, I find your oncoming storm face incredibly sexy.” his cheeks turned pink and he looked away. 

She leaned closer to his hand, it had been a while since she spelled this one out. When she finished she looked up into his eyes to find tears swelling in them. She placed a kiss in the center of his palm.

“If you’re from my future you shouldn’t be telling me that.” he was still and stiff. A little afraid to speak.

“I already told you, I’m from an alternate universe. I was married to another version of you, but not this timeline.” 

“But now you are here without your mate? All alone.” 

“Yep. Can’t get back. I tried when John died. So I made the best of it and travelled. Just me on my own, for goodness knows how long.” she was blinking back her own tears. Like him she missed the connection of a bond. Granted it was at a different level than him missing his entire planet, but there was an emptiness there. 

“There’s me.” the words just spilled out of his mouth, he didn’t even know where they came from. She laughed a little at the parallel and sniffed back her tears. 

“Let’s go get some chips. I’m starving. Yeah?” she pulled her hand out of his. He pouted slightly at the loss of contact. 

“Yeah.” he nodded up at her with a grin. He stood and followed her to the console and helped her put the ship in flight. They landed with a light thud. 

“What happened to the sound? I like the sound.” he said when they landed. Rose only rolled her eyes at him, refusing to have this argument with another version of him. 

She took him to her favorite chip shop, they serve chips the closest to what they served back home. She told him stories about the adventures she went on with her first Doctor. He told her some of his own stories as well. Some familiar and some completely new to her. He was so much like her first Doctor, at least with John there was obvious differences to help her remember they weren’t the same. These two were almost exactly the same, only their paths seem to diverge after the Time War. They walked back to her TARDIS at some point they began holding hands. 

“Did you really turn me down?” he bumped her shoulder. He felt so comfortable with her. She already knew his darkest secrets and still chose to stay with several versions of him. Even though she was not his bonded wife, he could still feel a tinkling of the connection with her. He was utterly drawn to her. 

“Yep.” she replied, popping her p. 

“What changed?” 

“I regretted it immediately. I thought I was doing the responsible thing. But then you came back and I couldn’t say no. I think I was half in love with you already.” she stopped walking and tugged him to look at her. He was making a face that said there was no way that was possible. She sighed and began to lift her hands to his head, slowly in case he didn’t want her to. He nodded for her to continue and she showed him the memory. Not just her memory but the Doctor’s as well. John was able to show it to her in the past so it lived in her memories now too. She went to pull her hands away but he caught one in mid air. He turned it over and placed a small kiss on the palm of her hand before dropping it but not releasing it. 

“What was that for?” she was breathless when she asked. 

“Because that was the first time in a very long time I have not felt alone up here. Not since the end of war.” he tapped his head. “I loved you a great deal already. I could feel it in the memory.” he took a ragged breath. Rose felt like she had fully stopped breathing. He stepped closer to her and pushed her hair over her shoulder. He ran light finger down the side of her face. 

“Do- do you want to come travel with me? We don’t have to be alone anymore.” she asked while gazing deep into his eyes again. He leaned in and gently touched his lips to hers. Normally he wouldn’t be so forward with someone but every cell in his body was screaming out to kiss her. She tilted her head upwards so he could get a better angle, he rested her large hand on the side of her face, his thumb rubbing her cheek. When he pulled away he grinned at her again. 

“Fantastic.” was all he said. 

“So was that a yes?” she laughed at the expression on his face. 

“Are you sure you want to travel with me?” 

“Yes. I learned a long time ago that this life is better with two.” she ran a finger across his eyebrows, trying to smooth out the concerned creasing his brows. 

“Then I have one word for you Rose Tyler.” he lifted her hand and placed a kiss on it. “Run!” he took off towards her TARDIS. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They had travelled together for several Earth weeks now and Rose couldn't be happier. Which meant something was bound to go wrong. 

Rose sat in the library, a much smaller version on the other TARDIS, but still rather impressive, telling her ship her concerns. 

“He’s still just as moody and depressed as my Doctor. He hides it behind big grins but I can see it. Just like I could then. I know they aren’t the same. But in a way, they are. They share so much of the same history. The Time War has had the same effect on him. He runs so hot and cold though. Like he keeps me at a distance but rarely isn’t holding my hand or hugging me after we save a world. I feel like I’m bloody 19 again moonin’ after him.” Rose told the fire. The fire flickered back at her and the room filled with hums and whistles. 

“Yeah well, of course you’d say that. You always take the Time Lord’s side.” she folded her arms and scowled at the ceiling. The TARDIS responded with some frustrated hums. “Well I held the time vortex in my head for over 10 minutes. It changed my entire biology, so in a way I have a deeper connection with your mother than they do!” 

“You did what?” she heard from behind the stacks. The Doctor came around and stomped over to her. 

“Were you listening to my conversation?” she yelled back at him. 

“I didn’t mean to! You came in already talkin’ and I thought it would be weird if I interrupted. You held the time vortex in your head? How are you still alive?” he pulled his sonic out and tried to scan her eyes. She batted the device away. 

“I looked into the heart of the TARDIS and she looked into me. I think she rewrote my DNA. He took it out of me before I burned up, but the only way I could have survived that long was it changed me.” 

“How did he get it out of you?” he flung himself onto the couch next to her. 

“With a kiss. He pulled it all out, put it back in the TARDIS. He had to regenerate after that, which should have been our first clue she changed me. I was fine but he died, and I held it much longer than him. We never checked though. Not till John and I were here. Then we figured it out when I stopped aging past like 25.” 

“You stayed with me through a regeneration?” he ran a hand through his short cropped hair. This woman was proving to be more and more amazing everyday. 

“Well yeah, you knew about the metacrisis. That was sort of the same thing.”

“Yeah but I thought it was of this daft ol’ face.” he circled a finger around his face. 

“Stop it. I think you are stunningly handsome.” she took his hand and he gave her a squeeze. He shot her a look like he didn't believe her. 

“I’m sorry you feel like I am pushing you away. It's just this is all really unbelievable. I thought for sure I would be alone, trapped on Earth forever. Yet here I am, traveling in a TARDIS with Rose Tyler. Rose Tyler who isn’t afraid of anything, Rose Tyler who goes straight into danger head first, Rose Tyler who also seems to just wander into danger. Rose Tyler who is so compassionate that she can’t help herself but jump in and help people. Wonderful jeopardy friendly Rose Tyler, my apparent bonded wife from another timeline. I'm not alone, I don't know what to do with that It has all been too good to be true and I am waiting for the universe to come take it away.” he leaned his head back on the sofa and closed his eyes. He was overwhelmed by her. 

“I know what you mean. Seems like everytime I am happy and settled something happens. The first regeneration, the separation, the dalek shooting, the metacrisis, being stuck here, my DNA change, John’s death. I’m a little worried too. The TARDIS thinks maybe we are each other’s second chance. Like the universe is giving us each other to make up for all the hardship it has put us through.” 

“Problem with that is I don’t deserve you. Not after what I had to do.” he pulled his hand away from her and went to stand up. She yanked his arm and made him sit back down but he wouldn’t look at her. So she made him. She climbed onto his lap, straddling him. She placed one hand on each side of his head and rested her forehead on his waiting for him to open his eyes. They sat in that position till he finally put his hands on her hips and opened his eyes. 

“You did the right thing.” she whispered. He shook his head no and tried to push her off. She put her hands on his chest. “Listen to me. You had no choice. The war was going to destroy everything. The Time Lords were losing their minds, the Daleks were already crazy. They would have destroyed everything to destroy each other. You did the right thing.” she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. He was stiff for a moment before finally returning the embrace. “You deserve happiness. You have sacrificed enough. It's time to be happy Doctor." she whispered into his neck the words she had longed to say to her first Doctor. 

She broke their embrace first, and took his face in both her hands. 

“I love you, you daft old man.” she closed the distance and kissed him. 

“You don’t love me. You love him. You’re just confusing us because we have the same face.” he said it, but she could tell he didn’t believe it. Or didn’t want to believe it. 

“I love the Doctor. No matter what face he wears. You are the Doctor. You are not some version of him. You are the Doctor.” she kissed him again and this time he reciprocated. He took one hand from her hip and placed it on the side of her head to pull her closer. When she ground her hips into his he finally pulled away. 

“Gods woman. You’re going to be the death of me.” 

“What’s the matter? Don’t have the moves?” she teased him, knowing that specific tease would get him going. 

“I have plenty of moves Rose Tyler. This is just happening really fast. I need a mo to sort it all out.” he gently guided her off his lap and onto the couch. 

“Shit. Did I misread everything? Shit. I am so sorry.” her face was red and she tried to quickly get off the couch. “Let’s just pretend I didn’t just make an utter ass out of myself here. Okay? I take it back.” she went to leave the room, but he grabbed her arm. 

“Hang on there Rose Tyler. You can’t just say something that wonderful and take it back.” he pulled her back down onto the couch next to him. "I never thought I would be loved by anyone, let alone someone as amazing as you. I'm having a hard time with it all, feeling like I don't deserve you." 

"Do you have feelings for me?" 

"Absolutely. I have from the moment I looked into your eyes. Will you be patient with a broken man?" 

"Always have been before. I'm going to bed. We'll talk again tomorrow?" She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. He put his hand on the side of her face when she pulled away. He didn't say anything but she knew the look in his eyes. She knew what he wanted to say. She nodded her head and kissed him on the lips. 

"I always wanted to kiss this face." She murmured before leaving the couch and heading to her room. 

The Doctor roamed the halls for hours thinking. He just met this woman, he was grateful she rescued him from Earth and took him in. He was awed by her strength. Did he love her or was he just happy to not be alone?

He made his way to the console and decided to tinker with it. This TARDIS was still basically a baby, so she was in good shape. Couldn’t hurt to give her a bit of a tune up though. 

“Hello!” the Doctor hit his head when he heard the male voice greeting him in Gallifreyan. He came out from under the grating to find a projection of a tall and very skinny man. It felt wonderful to hear his native tongue again.

“I’m John. Hopefully Rose has told you about me or else this is going to be quite a surprise.” the thin man tugged on his ear. The Doctor rolled his eyes at the fact that he regenerated into this pretty boy. “You picked this face for her so don’t judge. Although she was always happy with the one you have, but I didn’t know that till later. Any who. Oh no, I don’t like that. Won’t be saying that again. If you’re watching this then I am dead. I found you about a month ago in my time and have been going back and forth on whether I should tell her or not. I decided on not. I love her and I know she loves me in her way but if she ever met the Doctor I don’t think she would stay with me, or if she did she wouldn’t fully be with me. So I am being a selfish coward. I am temporary. I will die and she will live on, so I am going to enjoy what little time I do have with her. You’ll understand when you fall in love with her. And you will. We were the same man after all. Her love for the Doctor is eternal, it transcends time and space. I have no doubt that goes for you as well. You are the Doctor, even if you feel like you are different from the one she first fell in love with.” John looked down sadly, he rubbed his neck before he continued. 

“I know keeping you from her was wrong, but I think I might have a present for you to make up for it. I know you're probably terribly confused about why Rose is so special to us. So I'm leaving you my memories. All of them from when I was her Doctor are yours. You don’t get the ones from when we came over here. Those are ours. But I will give you everything from the moment you met her to dropping her off with me. Then you will truly understand why Rose Tyler is so essential to us all. I’d say take good care of her, but I already know you will. I think you loved her harder than any of us. I know she will take care of you too. The Doctor and Rose Tyler are inevitable. I have looked at every possible outcome of her timeline and yours is wrapped firmly in each one. Just a word of advice. Don’t send her away for her protection. It never works, she finds a way back. You’ll see what I mean. Tell Rose I am sorry and I love her. I hope she understands why and forgives me.” the projection turned off and a small capsule was sitting on the counter. “Oh! I’m sure you’re going back and forth on if you love her and do you deserve her. Yes you do. To both. She will fix you. She already has. Learn from our past mistakes and do not push her away or take her for granted. Take the pill and love her loudly and openly. There is nothing to worry about from Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth." the projection came back on, seeming to read his mind before it blinked off again. 

“What do you think?” he asked the TARDIS whose lights began blinking rapidly. 

He went to Rose’s door. It was left open but she was in her bed sleeping. She was a heavy sleeper, she said she had to be her husband talked so much he even talked in his sleep.

He stood in the doorway watching her. Thinking about everything that has happened the last couple weeks. He was a fool if he didn’t think he loved her immediately. It appeared the other him felt the same way about her when they met, from the memory she showed him. He wanted to understand this woman and why she so quickly imprinted herself onto his hearts. He wanted every part of her. There seemed to be a primal and carnal need for her that he was having trouble controlling. 

He sat in the chair next to her bed and ran his hands through her hair. With a deep breath he popped the pill in his mouth and waited for the memories. They played in front of his eyes like a movie. He sat forward and took Rose’s hand. He knew he would see them all, but he was not prepared for the overwhelming feelings that came along with it. His other self was an idiot. His emotions were still so raw from the time war, he was not able to handle not just the deep feeling of loss and regret but the overwhelming need for this woman. He felt his hearts stop when he grabbed her hand in the basement, and they start again faster when she turned her head and he looked into her eyes. That millisecond from grabbing her hand to telling her run was all it took to know she was the answer to everything. There was so much jealousy and fear of her leaving or dying. There was more joy and happy times too. Both types of memories were equally overwhelming.

The memories ended with Rose and John standing on a beach watching the TARDIS disappear. Rose crumpled to the ground in agony and they cut off. He cried at the loss of her and the fact he hurt her so bad. 

“Hey, what’s the matter?” he heard her Rose’s small voice ask. She took her free hand and ran it down his face, collecting the tears he didn’t know was there. He lifted their joined hands and kissed her knuckles. 

“Your John left me a little gift.” he said, wiping his tears with the back of his hand. She sat up and lifted her blanket indicating he should join her. He kicked his boots off and stripped off his jacket before climbing in next to her. He sat with his back on the headboard and she laid against his chest, listening to his hearts. 

“What do you mean about John?” she finally asked. 

“Turns out he found out I was here years ago and decided to keep me from you.” 

“He what?” she sat up angrily. 

“He was afraid if you found out about the Doctor being here you would run away with me. He said he wanted to cherish the time you had together before he died. He said that Rose Tyler and the Doctor are inevitable. We were always going to find each other.” 

“He always thought of himself as less than the Doctor. He never gave me enough credit.” she folded her arms and huffed. She almost wanted to take the TARDIS back to when he was alive, so she could give him an infamous Tyler slap. 

“He left me his memories. All the memories from the moment he met you to when the other Doctor left you two on the beach. I saw and felt every single emotion. I felt the joy at finding you and holding you. I felt the heartbreak at losing you. I felt the regret of not telling you sooner about how he felt. I felt the hot jealous rage he felt all the time at someone named Rickey and Jack.” he stopped when she chuckled. 

“His name was Mickey. The Doctor used to tease him and call him the wrong name. So you saw and felt everything. Did you learn anything about me?” 

“I learned why you are the most important human in the universe. I learned that pushing you away does no good. It only results in pain and jealousy. I’m not going to take you for granted. I love you Rose Tyler.” 

“Do you? Or are you just feeling the aftershocks from the memories?” she laid down on the bed, resting her head on her pillow. He mirrored her and also laid down, turning to face her. 

“No, I loved you before seeing the memories. They just pushed me to be more open with you. There was so many wasted years.” he reached up and grabbed a strand of her hair and rubbed the silky strands between his thumb and forefinger. “I want to be with you Rose Tyler. I want everything with you. I want to travel with you, or settle on a planet somewhere. I don’t care, I just want to be with you.” 

“I love you too, I want all of that with you as well.” she leaned forward and kissed him. He turned her to lay on her back before he broke the kiss. Hovering over her he asked, 

“How long are you going to stay with me?” 

“Forever.” she answered. 

“Fantastic!” he laughed before closing the distance between them to kiss her again.


End file.
